Page 17 of A Sky of Emerald Stars

“Great,” Maez muttered as we tried to keep our eyes on him in the crowd.

We shoved through the merry well-wishers, finding the road diverted into two around the temple. Navin was nowhere to be seen, nor any footprints in the snow down either path.

I glanced at Maez. “Split up?”

She nodded. “Meet you back at the wagon in one hour.”

I darted down the left-hand side, moving quickly through the lingering crowd and back into the quiet of the side street. The human temple was a long rectangular building constructed of sandstone and ice. I hugged close to the wall. It ran all the way down toward a giant snowbank, a dead end to the right. If Navin had come down this way, he must’ve gone left. I tiptoed up to the corner, my hands twitching for my knives. I peeked around and saw nothing but a wall of icicles hanging from the building’s roof.

I was distracted, assessing the wall for holes, the snow dampening my senses, when a hand reached out and grabbed me by the back of my cloak.

As I was yanked backward, I snagged a thick icicle in my grip, spinning my attacker by the arm and slamming them into the temple wall. I had the distinct impression the towering figure wasletting me maneuver them backward, not even putting up a fight, but moving just as I willed them to. Bodies weren’t that compliant; even those without fighting skill instinctively should’ve resisted. I held the tip of the icicle to the cloaked figure’s throat with one hand, releasing my grip on them with the other to yank back their hood.

A pair of bronze eyes stared back at me, drained of their normal mirth for a flash before that crooked smile returned.

“I would think you followed me out of concern for my safety,” Navin said with a grin, “if you weren’t two seconds from impaling me with an ice dagger.”

“What the...?” I looked to my left and right, then up to the roof, which was also covered in a deep layer of snow, no footprints to be found. How the fuck did he get behind me? More,howdid he sneak up on me, a Wolf?

I cleared my throat. “What are you doing out here?”

He kept his head flattened to the wall, only moving his widening eyes to the icicle in my grip. I scowled and threw it into the snow. The bloody thing was burning my hand anyway. Navin pointedly rubbed his throat with his pointer finger before reaching into the inner pockets of his cloak.

He produced a bundle of fabric and unwrapped it. The smell of freshly baked meat pies wafted out. “I made a detour from my shopping to get these,” he said. “Saba makes the best pies in town.” He cocked his head, his eyes warm and eager. “Were you looking for me? Did you want to come with me to the markets?”

How? How! How did he have time to go buy these pies—we were right behind him this whole time. What sort of magic did he possess to whip these hot pies out of thin air? I tried not to scan around the space. Was there some secret shop below the love temple? Was there a stand in the square that we completely missed?

A more ominous thought unspooled from my mind: maybe this secret wasn’t about someone,somethingelse, maybe it was abouthim. His friendliness now seemed tinted with malice, myskepticism sharply cresting within me. That flicker behind his mask, that look in his eyes, what lurked beneath? I’d sniff him out, dig up what I couldn’t yet see.

“Oh, um,” I said, trying to appear flustered and not look like I was solving this mystery. “Yes. I need some... rope.”

He arched his brow. “Rope?”

“Yes,” I hedged. Why the fuck had I picked rope? “It’s a common item to carry in our packs in case of emergencies.” I tried to hide my cringe of embarrassment. I sounded like a complete fool.

Maez rounded the corner, skidding to a stop when she saw Navin and the meat pies he proffered out. She turned her stumble into a swagger. “Navin!” she called in a jolly tone. “Oh, good, we found you. We thought we might accompany you to the markets. I’m in need of some...” She glanced at me and I grimaced at her. “Salve,” she said with a confident nod, trying to sell the lie. “This thin Taigosi air is making my lips chapped.”

Fuck that was good. My lipswerekind of chapped from the cold air. Why didn’t I think of that instead ofrope?

“Excellent.” Navin smiled at her and then at me. “Shall we eat and walk?” He offered each of us a pie, acting ever the host and not the least like the stealthy liar I was beginning to suspect him of being. “These will be your new favorites.”

We each took a pie as we strolled out of the dead-end road. Our boots crunched through the snow, the fresh powder whining as it compressed beneath our soles. Wisps of chimney smoke rose up toward the overcast sky, and the smell of mulled wine and roast meat cut through the crisp air.

When I took a bite of the flaking buttery pastry, I moaned. Maez echoed my noise with her own.

“Sweet Moon,” she crooned. “If I didn’t already have a mate, I would swear myself to these pies.”

I snorted, bits of pastry flying out of my pressed lips.

“I told you,” Navin said to me as he nudged Maez with his elbow.

We strolled side by side, making appreciative grunts and hums as we devoured our pies. Navin started humming a merry tune to himself again, and I couldn’t help for a moment but feel like we were just three friends wandering the streets of the little town. Then I remembered the speed with which Navin grabbed me, the way helet meoverpower him, the stealth with which he snuck up on me, and the skill with which he covered for it.

Everything I thought I knew about the man was crumbling to ash between my fingertips. What more was he hiding? What more could he do? And would he use these secret skillsagainstme and Maez? I’d foolishly once thought he was a gentle soul...

Now I was beginning to wonder if we were evensafewith him.

All the ease of the moment drained away. I knew then for certain that there was more to Navin than just the traveling musician I’d met moons ago, and my hackles rose as I readied for whatever I was about to discover.

---